7 Tips: How Online Marketers Can Benefit From Google Analytics

byDaniel Rusling
Last Updated On: 25/09/ 2013

Most website owners have Google Analytics integrated to their website or blog and are benefiting from this analytic tool as it helps them assess their page views and bounce rates, besides overall traffic analysis including mobile traffic – and frame out a viable SEO strategy.

In other words, Google Analytics is a rich resource for information that not only helps you set and track business goals; but also allows you to create content that will cater to your target audiences.

More recently a few new features have been integrated at Google Analytics – Advanced Segmentation and Custom Reporting, which is still in beta; but lets you take more informed decisions about your Web presence.

7 GOOGLE ANALYTICS TIPS FOR ONLINE MARKETERS

1. Ensure Your Website Reflects Your Business’s Priorities

There are many people who in spite of having Google Analytics tool integrated remain elusive of the actual requirement from website and how it can help them unleash its potential for business growth and success.

So, it is equally important to know and understand what to expect from your website, so that you can harness the benefit of Google Analytics to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives.

2. Create and Benefit from Google Analytics ‘Custom Reports’

Creating custom reports in Google Analytics might not be largely prevalent amongst users, but experts believe that this can be very useful as custom reports give you ‘actionable intelligence’.

For example, custom reports on conversion data allows you to see the affiliates and external merchants that has helped generate the maximum traffic to your website and proved to be effective conversion element.

Similarly, you may create custom reports to understand referral links and focus your efforts in targeting those URLs that generate maximum traffic.

3. Emphasis on Actionable Data

Even though Google Analytic reports on your website page views and unique visits can validate your SEO strategy if you are right or make you rethink strategy if you are wrong; what actually matters is your emphasis on actionable data.

This means instead of focusing on non-actionable data, ensure that you focus on Google Analytic reports on organic search, referrals and all traffic, etc.

4. Effective and Unique Content is the Key

With Google taking a tough stand on unruly search engine marketers (courtesy its revolutionary Penguin updates), the importance of content marketing has grown in demand and status. It is important that you effectively utilize Google Analytics report to help your content team to develop content that will appeal to your target market.

Another great way to create effective content utilizing Google Analytics is to take note of the keyword analysis (the search queries or keywords visitors have been using in your website to make searches) and implement it effectively in your content.

5. Keep a Track of Your Traffic Graph – Ups and Downs

Google Analytics has largely been integrated into their systems by website owners; however a few actually bother to keep a track of the ups and down in traffic graph – resulting in failure to take immediate steps or corrective action.

It is suggested that you take cognizance of the automatic, customized Intelligence Events alerts sent to your email address or mobile phone, and make a detailed analysis as to what triggered a sudden boost in traffic from a specific website or an unexpected drop in overall traffic.

In short, Google Analytics Intelligence Events alerts you in eventuality of any rise, downfall or interesting happening to your website traffic.

Google Analytics Advance Segments is another essential tool that besides giving you giving you the actual insight, offers huge benefits from data segmentation.

The other benefits of this tool is that it allows you to isolate and analyze definite traffic types; gain a deeper understanding of your mobile traffic and prove effective in building an impressive mobile website.

The best thing about Advanced Segments tools is that it is least complex and can be created with almost any GA report. All you need to do is go to the All Pages report and apply for a mobile Advanced Segment, which will pages of your mobile site are the most and least visited.

7. Landing Page Reports are Crucial

Great landing pages are essential for the success of any website as they pay a crucial role in enticing customers to engage – resulting in higher conversions and better (AdWords) quality score.

You can initiate by having a look at the top 10 or 20 landing pages. Content > Site Content > Landing Pages. If you find one with higher bounce rates, analyze and find out what’s wrong – is it lack of detailed information, content not related to ads, broken links, etc. – and fix it immediately.

Every marketer, I guess, acknowledges Google Analytics’ importance, but having “actionable” insights is way better than having a bunch of data that you don’t exactly know how to benefit from. That’s why, it’s really good to know that one can get “actionable” insights from Google Analytics’ custom reports.

Google Analytics, I think, is the most widely used statistics service today. It’s a great help for marketers to track down their traffics and performances. The service will only be beneficial if they know how to utilize it effectively. Gladly, your article provides information on how to fully benefit from it.

Given the huge percentage of people browsing the internet on their smartphones, it has become necessary to offer users a mobile friendly experience. Google Analytics can tell you how many users have used a PC, tablet or a smartphone to reach your site. To know this, you need to click on ‘Audience’, then go to ‘Mobile’ and finally to ‘Overview’. Here, you can not only see the devices used to visit your site but also the number of pages viewed per visit and the duration

Various reasons why Google Analytics’ important. And I don’t doubt about the seven tips that you put into the table. As a marketer, they should put in their mind that they need a good guideline to make their business productivity.

I must say that this is a good data presentation. The number 6 “Google Analytics ‘Advanced Segments’ Tool Help You Understand Better” is what I can suggest.

Timely post!

I found this post shared on Kingged.com, the IM social networking site, and I “kingged” it and left this comment.

There are so many tools which are offering website analysis like Omniture, Start counter, and Google analytics. Google Analytics tool is very much successful because Google gives us free to Use. yes there are so many feature missing in Google analytics free version. for getting more option you have to purchase the premium version. i have seen Google analytics premium version. After using this i forget to use Adobe Omniture. So easy to use and analysis my websites.

You have mention the benefits about Google analytics and uses. Thanks to you for give this idea.

There is no-doubt that Google analytics is very helpful and effective tool to track a website’s traffic. “Traffic Graph” and “Landing Page Reports” both are very important facilities for webmaster because via these two options a webmaster can easily analyze that where he/she stands and what strategy he/she should make for future.

Google Analytics has been an integral part of my SEO initiatives. yes, there are other similar tools these days, but nothing really matches up to it. and thanks for the tips you have set out. They sure help.

There’s SOOOOOO much info you can get from Google Analytics. Its definitely a bit overwhelming and I can easily see people focusing on the wrong info. I find myself worrying about figures that I can’t really do anything about. Like Daniel said, you need to find the info you can affect and focus on that.

These all are new concept for me regarding the Google Analytics…I am using this tool from last 1 years but never come to know about these concept that are shared in this post. Great blog with very useful information.